I take it, it isn't a power company which runs by the combustion of titled members of the aristocracy.

This goes into a fellow named Pat McCrory, Republican ex-Governor of North Carolina. He was an employee of Duke Energy for decades before he ran for office, and he worked while in office to lift regulations on Duke Energy and help their bottom line. This led to them dumping toxic coal ash in storage locations that weren't up to code for storing that kind of toxic shit, and when there was a major flood in NC, the toxic coal ash was washed into the lakes and rivers of North Carolina. To help Duke avoid answering for this, McCrory worked to use his office to prevent any investigation into what actually happened, which was a big part of why he was voted out.

Basically, Duke Energy is the standard shady corporation who are so determined to make money they don't care about rules and regulations, and are perfectly willing to buy politicians to avoid oversight.